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David, were you on a run with both sails on the same side? Not wing and wing?

I normally would just head up and come to a broad reach..and then gybe your way home.
Otherwise, the mainsail is blocking the genoa.

You could..drop the main, but I would just head up....to a broad reach and have both sails working

I was almost on a run with a 150 genoa both sails on the same side.
I do not have a pole and there was no way it was going to fill wing on wing by itself.
I reefed the genoa (roller furling) down to about 100 and it felt better but as others have said I would probably been better off just heading up a bit.

I raced a C25 for many years. Rolling up the jib in light air reduces sail area at a time when you need as much sail area as you can get. In light-to-moderate winds, I sailed wing-and-wing with a whisker pole extending the genoa to the maximum. Some handicapping systems limit the length of the whisker pole, and others do not. If you're just sailing casually, it doesn't matter, but if you're racing, you'll need to know whether the length of pole is limited by the handicapping system used in your venue. The fully extended whisker pole prevents the genoa from collapsing, and keeps it driving the boat downwind in light air.

+1. If you're a cruiser, and you're "spinnaker averse", just pole out the jib with a whisker pole.

08-01-2011 12:10 PM

SVAuspicious

As long as the main is not blocking air to the genny (in which case reefing the main is a reasonable thing) you may find that the weight of jib sheets is a problem. Try removing the lazy sheet. If you sail in light airs often consider a set of light air (lightweight) sheets.

I raced a C25 for many years. Rolling up the jib in light air reduces sail area at a time when you need as much sail area as you can get. In light-to-moderate winds, I sailed wing-and-wing with a whisker pole extending the genoa to the maximum. ....

FWIW, another easy alternative for keep the genoa full without a pole is to sail by-the-lee, gybing if necessary so the genoa has a clear breeze. Not a good practice for a big breeze, but also not generally needed then anyway.

08-01-2011 09:44 AM

Sailormon6

I raced a C25 for many years. Rolling up the jib in light air reduces sail area at a time when you need as much sail area as you can get. In light-to-moderate winds, I sailed wing-and-wing with a whisker pole extending the genoa to the maximum. Some handicapping systems limit the length of the whisker pole, and others do not. If you're just sailing casually, it doesn't matter, but if you're racing, you'll need to know whether the length of pole is limited by the handicapping system used in your venue. The fully extended whisker pole prevents the genoa from collapsing, and keeps it driving the boat downwind in light air.

07-31-2011 06:50 PM

Tempest

David, were you on a run with both sails on the same side? Not wing and wing?

I normally would just head up and come to a broad reach..and then gybe your way home.
Otherwise, the mainsail is blocking the genoa.

You could..drop the main, but I would just head up....to a broad reach and have both sails working

07-31-2011 03:50 PM

WDS123

Likely you were not going faster.

What was your apparent wind angle ?

07-31-2011 03:38 PM

blt2ski

I've heard of some folks with Asymetric reefing the main so the spin is getting more wind. I would think reefing the main or dropping it would have been a faster option. As downwind, more SA forward is usually better. Then again, I have seen some reports where boats with gaff mains have out sailed a marconi rig down wind, same boat, same SA. BUT the marconi beat the gaff upwind! in the end, a good race none the less.

in general, as mentioned, better to wing on wing, or not sail direct down wind, at 120-160* would have been better than letting the sail collapse, which also wears out the sail sooner.

most racers would be using a spinnaker in a run and would sail the best angle for their boat. that would be an angle that keeps the sails full at all times. most of the time racers do not sail dead down wind. the angles are more like 120 degrees to the wind and jibing several times on the way to the lee mark. with no spinnaker they might be sailing wing and wing and may use a wisker pole.

Of course makes total sense.
We do have some non-spin classes around here but I suspect you are right in that they would head up to keep boat speed.